falling by placing an
arm round his waist.

"Apologise," he hissed, "or I'll drop you."

"Moles," replied Doe reproachfully. "At once let me go; or I'll push
you in." I rendered my friend immediate assistance by filling
White's shoes with water.

"Shut up that!" said he, quickly releasing Doe, who retired from the
baths shouting: "Moles, you ugly old elephant, Ray could give you
eighty yards in a hundred, and beat you."

This last impertinence suggested an idea to White. He arranged that
Cully, Johnson, he, and I should have a private race, "in camera,"
as he put. The event came off the following day, and I won it with
some yards to spare. My three defeated opponents were generous in
their praise.

"Golly!" said Johnson. "I thought we'd be last for the Swimming Cup.
But snakes alive! we'll get in the semi-final."

"Why, man," declared Cully. "I see us in the final with Erasmus."

"Final be damned!" said White. "Train like navvies and we'll lift
the Cup!"

Sec.3

Never did human boy have three more sporting associates in a
swimming four than I had in White, Cully, and Johnson. Because I was
a year younger than they it was their pleasure to call me the "Baby
of the Team," and to take a pride in my successes. They would, in
order to pace me, take half-a-length's start in a two-lengths'
practice race, and make me strain every nerve to beat them. Or they
would time me with their watches over the sixty yards, and, all
arriving at different conclusions as to my figures, agree only in
the fact that I was establishing records. Once, when according to a
stop-watch I really did set up a record, Cully, forgetting his
dignity as a prefect in his enthusiasm as a Bramhallite, cried
"Alleluia! alleluia!" and hurled Johnson's hat into the air, so that
it fell into the water.

The members of Erasmus' Four were at first incredulous.

"Heard of Bramhall's find?" said they. "They've discovered a young
torpedo in Ray. He's quite good and they'll probably get into the
final. But we needn't be afraid. They've a weak string in Johnson,
while we haven't a weakness anywhere. However, we'll take no risks."
And so they started a savagely severe system of training.

Meantime White constituted himself my medical adviser, and some such
dialogue as this would take place every morning:

"Now, Ray, got any pain under the heart?"

"No."

"Do you feel anything like a stomach-ache?"

"Only when I see your face."

"Look here, I'd k